Nato sees no Russian pull-back in Ukraine
Nato is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects "additional offensive actions," the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday.
"According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region" in eastern Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a media conference.
"At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So, we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering."
The Nato assessment contradicted a pledge by Russian negotiators, made after talks in Turkey this week, to "radically" reduce Moscow's military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv.
"We have heard the recent statements that Russia will scale down military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine. But Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions. So we can only judge Russia on its actions, not on its words," Stoltenberg said.
Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the southeast region where Moscow's guns are now trained after its assault on the capital Kyiv was repelled.
Five weeks into an invasion that has blasted cities into wastelands and created more than 4 million refugees, US and UK officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin was misled by his generals about the dire performance of Russia's military.
The Kremlin yesterday denied US and British claims. "This shows that neither the Department of State nor the Pentagon have real information about what is happening in the Kremlin," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was bringing a convoy of aid to reach besieged Black Sea port of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of people have been trapped for weeks under bombardment without food, water or heat.
Mariupol, once a city of 400,000 people, has been destroyed by four weeks of relentless bombardment and siege. The United Nations believes thousands of people have died there.
Putin, meanwhile, said yesterday that "unfriendly" countries, including all EU members, will need to set up ruble accounts to pay for gas deliveries from April, reports AFP.
While the United States banned the import of Russian oil and gas, the European Union -- which received around 40 percent of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021 -- has retained deliveries from Moscow.
"They must open ruble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting tomorrow, April 1," Putin said during a televised government meeting.
He announced that he signed a decree that outlines the "clear and transparent" process.
"If such payments are not made, we will consider this a breach of obligations on the part of our buyers with all the ensuing consequences," Putin said.
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